Heights restaurant sues landlord over potential eviction

A popular Heights restaurant has filed suit against its landlord, claiming the property owner did not hold up its end of the bargain when the eatery’s lease was coming to an end.

The five-year lease, which expired on June 30, 2014, contained a handwritten provision for a five-year renewal option, according to the suit, filed last Thursday by Zelko Bistro in state district court. Swamplot first reported the filing Monday.

Zelko provided the property owner with a renewal notice 90 days before the lease was to end, a condition in the original agreement, the suit said. But in May, the restaurant received a new lease with unexpected “substantial and material changes” to the original lease, including a shorter lease term and a higher rent.

Last month in two separate letters to the restaurant, the property owner demanded the eatery surrender possession of the building and threatened to begin eviction proceedings, according to the filing.

A lease sign was placed in front of the 1920s bungalow at 705 E. 11th St., and the real estate agent representing the property owner said there had been a “total breakdown in communications” over discussions to renew the lease.